Hitting the Cold North

Thank you, Tim and Deborah Lamm for letting us use your coats! We have needed them up here in the Adirondack Mountatins of New York.

Up until Wednesday when we left the Southern region of the United States, we have had cooler weather than the humid 80 degree weather we are used to in the Bahamas, but for the most part it was still comfortably warm enough for our thin Bahamian-acclimated blood. In fact we have really enjoyed the ability to wear long pants, sweaters, scarves (Mindy) and closed toed shoes. Since our arrival in upstate New York, we have had to add another layer- a heavy jacket. Thank you to our dear friends, Tim and Deborah Lamm, in Wilson, NC, we now have jackets to wear. We are suppose to have snow here this weekend. We are looking forward to seeing the white stuff, but please pray for safety as we travel the mountain roads here in New York.

Last Saturday, we flew in to Raleigh/Durhan, NC. Tim and Deborah Lamm were there to pick us up. After lunch, we headed to their home town, Wilson.

They drove us around their town and showed us their church. This is where we attended church the following day.

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This is the pool house that belongs to Raymie and Dana McFarland (Dana is Deborah Lamm’s daughter). We were blessed with this gorgeous place for accommodations while we were staying in Wilson. We felt so welcome and pampered here.

This is Brad and Kasey Perry. Brad is the youth and missions pastor at Peace Church. They have two daughters, Adriana and Adalyn.

Brad and Kasey took us out to dinner at a really southern restaurant on Saturday night. Since my dad was a Kentucky boy, I grew up eating like this. It was great, but I sure could not eat like that everyday.

On Sunday morning we attended Peace Church. We were able to see Ronnie and Francis Dilda. The Dildas had spent a month with us in the Bahamas in May.

We had the opportunity to speak to the high school Sunday School class. They are planning a mission trip to the Bahamas next summer.

Following church and Sunday School, we all gathered at the Lamm’s house for their regularly scheduled family dinner. Of course there were Tim and Deborrah, Deborrah’s father, Brad and Kasey family and Raymie and Dana family. There were also 2 young men that were friends of the McFarland boys.

On Monday, Brad Perry took us out to Cracker Barrel. The Lamms joined us.

Monday, October 27th was Tim’s birthday. We had dinner at the Lamm’s house and they had a little party for him. The Perry girls loved helping grandma and grandpa with the cake.

We were joined by two other couples that we met in the Bahamas when they came on mission trips. Nancy and Erwin and Herb and Barb.

When we returned to the pool house that night. We found a surprise from Dana, hostess. They gave Tim a book. What gracious people!

On Tuesday morning we went to Wake Forest, North Carolina and visited Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with the Dildas. We were able to attend the chapel service.

That evening we went back to the Dilda’s house for dinner. The Lamms met us at the Dilda’s house for dinner as well.

On Wednesday morning we were up by 4am so we could make it to Raleigh in time to catch our 725am flight to Albany, NY. The flights gave us great view of the beautiful fall colors around the Baltimore and Albany airports.

We rented a car and drove 1 1/2 hours north into the Adirondack Mountains. We stayed at Adirondack Bible Chapel Ministry Center. The ministry center is a place for rest and healing (spiritually, emotionally, mentally) and for discipleship. We were able to not only stay and rest here for a couple days ourselves, we also got to see what the ministry is all about. We were impressed with what we saw.

On Wednesday evening we presented the ALC&C ministry to Adirondack Bible Chapel. Pastor Ed Hart used to be on the ALC board and so the congregation are very familiar with the ALC from years of service there. It is exciting getting to reconnect.

We had dinner with Pastor Ed on Thursday. His wife Faith was out of town, so we did not get to meet her.

This is a picture of the common area in the lodge at the Ministry Center. Very relaxing!

This is the common kitchen area. Here, some of the female staff and residents were cleaning cabinets and pantries.

Some of the ladies staying and working at the Center.

Some of the young men staying at the Center.

Angel and her darling children. They are staying at the Ministry Center now.

We had the opportunity to take a walk in the woods, in the mountains around this lake. GORGEOUS!

Our last night in the Adirondacks, we were hosted by Richard and Judy Olenik. They are former Missionary Aviation Fellowship missionaries to Africa. It was fun hearing some of their stories and about their ministry work.

Someone asked us how we are doing with the busy schedule. To be honest, we are physically tired, but we are spiritually refreshed. The pastor’s conference last week, our time this week at the Ministry Center and the care and concern from those in Wilson have done wonders to help refresh and renew us. Our next stop is Delhi, NY area. We will be there until Tuesday.

We will try to provide another update next week. Have a great weekend!